His Highness the Amir of the State of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani held an official talks session with President of the friendly French Republic HE Emmanuel Macron, at the Elysee Palace in Paris on Tuesday.

At the beginning of the session, the French president welcomed HH the Amir, praising the close relations between the two countries, and looking forward to HH the Amir’s visit contributing to strengthening cooperation relations and expanding its horizons to include various fields.

For his part, HH the Amir expressed his deep thanks and appreciation to the French president for the warm reception, noting the growth witnessed by the strategic relations between the two countries, and expressing his hope for more partnership and cooperation in various fields to achieve the common interests of the two friendly countries.

During the session, the existing friendship and cooperation relations between the two countries were discussed, as well as ways to strengthen and develop them at all levels, especially in the fields of politics, security, economy, investment, technology, health and education.

The session also dealt with developments in issues on the regional and international arenas, most notably developments in the situation in the Gaza Strip and the occupied Palestinian territories.

HH the Amir and Macron witnessed the signing ceremony of a declaration of intent for cooperation in the fields of humanitarian assistance and emergency intervention.

Later, HH the Amir attended the official dinner banquet hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron, in honor of His Highness and the accompanying delegation at the Elysee Palace.

At the beginning of the banquet, the French president delivered a speech in which he welcomed HH the Amir and the accompanying delegation, expressing the French Republic’s welcome and honor for this visit, and his great personal happiness with it.

Macron also praised the bilateral relations’ achievements over the past years, reiterating his thanks and appreciation to HH the Amir for the diplomatic efforts of the State of Qatar, regionally and internationally.

For his part, in a speech to mark the occasion, HH the Amir expressed his deep appreciation to the French President for the warm reception His Highness and the accompanying delegation were met with, stressing his keenness to continue joint work to consolidate bilateral relations at all levels, for the good and interest of the two friendly peoples.

HH the Amir also stressed what was agreed upon during the official discussions to increase the State of Qatar’s investments in France to 10 billion Euros in the coming years, which will be directed to strengthening strategic economic partnerships between the two countries.

During the speech, HH the Amir praised the city of Paris’ preparations to host the 2024 Paris Olympics next summer. HH the Amir expressed Qatar’s aspiration to cooperate in the success of organising this global sporting event.

During the official dinner banquet, HH the Amir was awarded the Legion of Honor with the rank of “Chevalier” by the French President in appreciation of the efforts of His Highness in strengthening friendly relations between the two countries.

For his part, HH the Amir granted the French President the Founder’s Sword, Sheikh Jassim bin Mohammed bin Thani, as an embodiment of his role in supporting and developing relations between the two countries.

The talks session and signing ceremony were attended by Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs HE Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, Minister of Interior and Commander of the Internal Security Force (Lekhwiya) HE Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad Al Thani, Chief of the Amiri Diwan HE Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Minister of State for Energy Affairs HE Saad bin Sherida Al Kaabi, Minister of Commerce and Industry HE Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad bin Qassim Al Thani, Minister of Culture HE Sheikh Abdul Rahman bin Hamad Al Thani, Minister of Sports and Youth HE Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Thani, and Minister of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs HE Dr Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Al Khulaifi, and a number of members of the official delegation accompanying HH the Amir.

It was also attended from the French side by Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Stephane Sejourne, Minister of Economy, Finance, Industrial and Digital Sovereignty Bruno Le Maire, Minister of the Interior and Overseas Territories Gerald Darmanin, Minister of Defence Sebastien Lecornu, and Minister of Culture Rachida Dati, Minister of Sports and Olympic Games Amelie Oudea-Castera, and a number of senior officials.

HH the Amir and the French President held a bilateral meeting in which they discussed cooperation relations between the two friendly countries, in addition to discussing a number of issues of mutual interest.

An official reception ceremony was held for HH the Amir upon his arrival at the Elysee Palace.

QNA